Canon: Mirrorless micro four thirds are for loser camera makers

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Canon has long been one of the most dominant camera makers and are usually at the head of the pack when it comes to embracing new camera form factors, which makes their complete failure to release a micro four thirds camera all the more inexplicable. After all, the micro four thirds form factor is a popular one that has been around for several years, and it’s a good economic fit for a company like Canon, in that it promotes lens sales. So what gives? Why won’t Canon enter the micro four thirds market?

Well, we’re not sure if this bit of Canon exec smack talk will illuminate matters, but it’s entertaining. Canon’s European head of consumer imaging, Rainer Fuehres, has told Amateur Photographer that the company isn’t looking into micro four thirds or similar because those camera form factors were for loser companies that couldn’t hack making compelling DSLRs.

That said, Fuehres didn’t say that Canon would never make a micro four thirds camera. Rather, if Canon enters the market, they’ll be marching to the beat of their own drum.

t“The idea of the compact system camera is nothing to do with whether the camera has a mirror or not, but about creating a small and more portable system” he said. “If Canon does take part I hope we won’t introduce just a me-too product, but we’ll use the opportunity to do something different.”

We’ve heard this talk from Canon before. They said in July of last year that they weren’t interested in micro four thirds, but thought they could instead shrink down DSLRs to a micro four thirds sized form factor. Canon’s actually got a history in the non-digital SLR market of doing some incredible things to shrink down mirrored cameras, so we wouldn’t be surprised if they managed just that. But when?